Wednesday, March 13, 2013

How To Get Into An Animal Behavior Graduate Program: An Outline

Do you dream about a career of studying animals?
Image by freedigitalphotos.net.
**NOTE: Although this advice is written for those interested in applying to graduate programs in animal behavior, it applies to most programs in the sciences.**

So you want to go to grad school to study animal behavior… Well join the club! It is a competitive world out there and this is an increasingly competitive field. But if every fiber of your being knows this is the path for you, then there is a way for you to follow that path. With hard work, dedication and persistence, you can join the ranks of today's animal biologists to pursue a career of trekking to wild places to study animals in their native habitats, testing questions about the physiology of behavior in a lab, or exploring the genetics of behavioral adaptation.

This is an outline of advice on how to get into a graduate program in animal behavior. More details on the individual steps will follow, so leave a comment below or e-mail me if you have any particular questions you would like me to address or if you have any advice you would like to share.


  1. Get good grades, particularly in your science and math courses. And make sure you take all the science and math prerequisites for biology graduate programs.
  2. Prepare well for the GREs.
  3. Get research experience. This can come in many forms (such as volunteering in a lab, working as a field technician, or doing an independent project for credit), but as a general rule, the more involved you are in a project, the more it will impress those making acceptance decisions.
  4. Choose the labs you are interested in, not just the schools. As a graduate student, you will spend most of your time working with your advisor and the other members of your advisor’s lab. This means that the right fit is imperative. Figure out what researchers you may want to work with, then see if they are at a school you would like to attend.
  5. Be organized in your application process. There will be a lot of details to keep straight: due dates, recommendation letters, essays, communication with potential advisors… The more organized you are, the less likely you are to miss a deadline or make an embarrassing mistake.
  6. Write compelling essays. Most schools will ask you to write two short essays: a Statement of Purpose and a Personal History. This is your place to set yourself apart. They need to convey your experience with animal behavior research and passion for working with that particular advisor. They also need to be very well written, so expect to write multiple drafts.
  7. Be organized and prepared when you ask for your recommendation letters. The easier you make it for your references to write a thoughtful recommendation letter for you, the better the letters will be.
  8. Apply for funding. This isn’t essential: Most first-year graduate students do not have their own funding. But the ability of a school and a specific researcher to accept a graduate student depends on what funding is available to support them. If you have your own funding, it is more likely you will to be able to write your own ticket.
  9. Be prepared for each interview you are invited to.
  10. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Although heartbraking at the time, it is very common in animal behavior graduate programs to not be accepted anywhere in your first year of applications. If you are rejected, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are not a good candidate. Often it means there is no funding available to support you in the labs you would like to join. Spend the year participating in research and applying for funding so you can reapply next year.
The submission of a successful application takes a lot of planning and preparation. Getting good grades is a continuous effort. Plus, the most successful applicants often have two or more years of research experience. Ideally, you are working on these two things at least by your sophomore year of college. But if you waited too long and you haven’t taken enough science or math prerequisites, your grades are not where they need to be, or you don’t have enough research experience, you can take some extra time after you graduate to take community college courses and volunteer or work in a lab. Persistence and dedication are key to following a challenging path.

22 comments:

  1. Are You Interested In Professional Assistance and Guidance In Elephant Conservation?

    1. Planning elephant study and research methodology.

    2. Behavioral observations of captive and wild elephants using focal and scan sampling
    techniques. Data analysis and report writing.

    3. Studying social life of wild elephants.

    4. Exploring the history and the current context of Human-elephant Conflict

    5. Conservation of wild elephants- local and global context.

    6. Evaluation of health and body condition of the wild and captive elephants - a veterinary perspective.

    7. Evaluation of elephant management systems in captivity - a welfare approach.

    8.Best tourism practices in international elephant industry.

    9. Designing community conservation projects.

    10.Deciding techniques to reach local and international public for raising awareness on elephant conservation and welfare.

    Please Feel Free to Contact Me on gihanimages@sltnet.lk

    Thanking You
    Kind Regards
    Gihan Chandrawansa

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is such an extraordinary asset, to the point that you are giving and you give it away for nothing. I love seeing sites that comprise the benefit of giving a quality asset to free.

    스포츠토토
    바카라사이트
    파워볼 메이저사이트
    카지노사이트

    ReplyDelete
  3. Extremely decent blog and articles. I am really extremely glad to visit your blog. Presently I am discovered which I really need. I check your blog regular and attempt to take in something from your blog.

    스포츠토토
    토토
    안전놀이터
    토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amazing! Its really awesome article, I have got much clear idea regarding from this article.
    사설토토
    카지노
    파워볼사이트
    온라인카지노

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have recently started a web site, the info you provide on this site has helped me greatly. Thanks for all of your time & work. Are you looking for sports betting online? just click the link: 토토사이트 We provide almost all games including typical ho games, gameplay, all-bet games, micro games, Taisan games, Playtech, and Asian games.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is a great inspiring article.I am pretty pleased with your good work 경마사이트

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is really great work. Thank you for sharing such a useful information here in the blog . 릴게임

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wohh exactly what I was looking for, regards for posting
    토토사이트

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's hard not to read this post, interesting! Sharing is caring! 카지노

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is highly informatics, crisp and clear. I think that everything has been described in systematic manner 바둑이사이트

    ReplyDelete
  11. Some truly choice articles on this site, saved to favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I besides conceive thus, perfectly pent post!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thankyou for this marvellous post, I am glad I found this web site on yahoo.

    ReplyDelete
  14. But wanna comment that you have a very decent web site, I love the layout it really stands out.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Veryy well-written. I am really thankful for sharing your quality words with us.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I like the efforts you have put in this, thanks for all the great posts.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love the efforts you have put in this, appreciate it for all the great content.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I gotta favorite this website it seems very beneficial extremely helpful

    ReplyDelete
  19. I could not refrain from commenting. Exceptionally well written!

    ReplyDelete
  20. This site is my intake, real superb pattern and perfect articles.

    ReplyDelete